Nine injured after woman blows herself up in Tunisian capital

A woman has blown herself up on a busy street in Tunisia's capital, Tunis killing herself and wounding nine other people, Tunisia's Interior Ministry said.

Eight police officers and a civilian were injured in the explosion, Tunisia's TAP news agency said, but there were no reports of other fatalities.

The 30-year-old suicide bomber set off the blast just before 2pm in the Tunisian capital's popular Habib Bourguiba avenue, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Sofiene Zaag.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that the suicide bomber, who was not previously known to authorities, blew herself up near a police patrol.

Images posted on social media appeared to show the body of a woman in the street.

An AP reporter at the scene saw many ambulances arriving to take the wounded to hospitals.

The explosion took place in front of Tunis' city theatre. Habib Bourguiba avenue is considered the cultural, political and economic heart of Tunis.

The avenue, as well as several adjacent streets, was cordoned off by police.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi called the bombing a terrorist attack, in comments reported from Germany, where he was attending an investment conference.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

Tunisian radio station Mosaique FM said Interior Minister Hichem Fourati was on his way to the scene.

It said the attacker was wearing a home-made bomb belt with a small quantity of explosives.

It reported that the bomber came from the Mahdia region of eastern Tunisia and security services raided her home after the attack.

Tunisian authorities have been on high alert in recent years following a spate of attacks including a deadly shooting in Tunis' Bardo National Museum in 2015 in which 22 people, including many European tourists, died.

Later that year, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a bus in Tunis that killed 12 people.